Notepad holder

ABSTRACT

A holding device for a cardboard-backed notepad. The device comprises a base member having a pad supporting flat wall, and a raised portion at its forward end for preventing movement of the pad in the direction of said forward end. A pen receiving opening is provided in the raised portion of the holder for supporting a pen or pencil in a convenient position. The forward end of the flat wall has three spaced portions offset downward to leave between them; a pair of tabs which extend toward the raised portion to receive and retain a short cardboard backing on the pad. The tabs and offset portions form a transverse slot which is open laterally at one side to allow the short backing to slide sideways under the tabs which grasp the backing and hold the pad in position on the supporting surface.

United States Patent Primary Examiner-Jerome Schnall AttorneyTrask, Jenkins & Hanley 28l/ISB 28l/ISB ABSTRACT: A holding device for a cardboard-hacked notepadv The device comprises a base member having a pad supporting flat wall, and a raised portion at its forward end for preventing movement of the pad in the direction of said forward end. A pen receiving opening is provided in the raised portion of the holder for supporting a pen or pencil in a convenient position. The forward end of the flat wall has three spaced portions offset downward to leave between them; a pair of tabs which extend toward the raised portion to receive and retain a short cardboard backing on the pad The tabs and offset portions form a transverse slot which is open laterally at one side to allow the short backing to slide sideways under the tabs which grasp the backing and hold the pad in position on the supporting surface,

PATENTEDUCI 5l97| 3,610,662

INVENTOR PETER M. SCHATZ NO'IEPAD HOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a device for holding a cardboardbacked notepad. Various devices, know in the art, provide notepad holders in which the cardboard backing of the pad is simply inserted in a slot on the holder. This permits the pad to slide about on the holder and to become misaligned therewith. Other devices such as a clipboard hold the pad securely in place, but are relatively unsightly for desk use. It is an object of this invention to provide a holder wherein the backing of the pad is inserted from the side, and wherein the pad is blocked against movement in all directions except the direction from which it is inserted. It is a further object to provide such a holder wherein the holding means are completely hidden when the pad is inserted in the holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, I provide a notepad holder having a pad supporting flat wall disposed with its forward end adjacent the vertical face of a raised portion. Three laterally spaced portions of the flat wall adjacent the vertical face are offset downward to provide a plurality of tabs which extend toward the raised portion. The pad is formed by a stack of paper joined to a cardboard backing having a length about equal to the length of the tabs which receive the cardboard backing thereunder and thereby hold the pad in place. Therefore, the holder, with the pad inserted, can be placed on a desk or hung on a wall with equal facility. When the pad is inserted in the holder the tabs which comprise the holding means, are completely hidden from view. Preferably, the device is fabricated of molded plastic, and has a pen-holding means on said raised portion to hold a pen or pencil in a convenient position either when the holder is placed on a table or hung on a wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The accompanying drawing illustrates one embodiment of the invention. In such drawing:

FIG. I is an isometric view of a notepad holder, with a pad inserted therein;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the holder shown in FIG. 1, but having the notepad removed to show the holding means;

FIG. 3 is a partial view of the underside of the holder shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawing, a notepad is held on a holder 12 which may be placed on a desk or conveniently mounted on a wall. The holder 12 comprises a base member having a pad-supporting flat wall 14 which is joined at its edges to sidewalls l3 and 15 and which extends forward toward a raised portion 16 having a vertical face which blocks forward movement of the pad 10 on the surface 14, and a pen receptacle 18 positioned on the raised portion I6 for conveniently storing a pen or pencil. The forward end of the flat wall I4 has three spaced portions 24, 25, and 26 offset downward to a level below the wall I4 to leave in the plane of the flat wall a pair of tabs 20 which extend toward the raised portion 16. The pad 10 has a short cardboard backing 22 having a length about equal to the length of the tabs 20, and the pad is moved sidewards in mounting it on the holder, so that the backing 22 lies beneath the tabs 20 and such tabs are disposed between the backing 22 and the sheets of paper on the pad I0. The holder 12 may be conveniently formed of molded plastic, and the tabs 20 may be formed by molding three top recesses to define the downward offset portions 24, 25 and 26 in the pad-supporting wall 14 and to define the widths of the tabs 20, and by molding two bottom recesses beneath the tabs 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the offset portion 24 is disposed at the right edge of the holder, the offset portion 25 is disposed at the center, and the offset portion 26 is placed inward from the left edge of the holder to leave the supporting wall 14 continuously intact along said left edge thereby forming an upstanding edge wall 14' at the left which serves as an edge stop. Therefore, as the cardboard backing 22 is inserted from the right as indicated in FIG. 2, if slides under the tabs 20 and over the offset portions 24, 25, and 26, and it is limited in its sideward movement by the edge wall 14' which serves to center the pad on the supporting surface. The mold is configured on the underside of the holder to provide rear recesses 27 and 28, as shown in FIG. 3, directly between the ohset portions 24, 25 and 26. Said recesses 27 and 28 extend upward past the offset portions 24, 25 and 26, for a distance slightly less than the thickness of the backing 22 of the pad. However, immediately adjacent the raised portion 16, the recesses 27 and 28 extend upward all the way to the pad supporting surface ofthe wall I4 to separate the ends of the tabs 20 from the vertical face of the raised portion I6. The edges of the tabs closest to said one edge of the holder are beveled or slanted away from said one edge, from top to bottom as shown at 20', to ease the reception of the backing 22 under the tabs 20. Said tabs are slightly springable and are pushed upward as the backing 22 is pushed thereunder, so that the tabs exert a clamping force on the backing and retain the pad in place by said clamping force. Desirably, the offset portion 25 is notched out, as shown at 29, to receive the head of a nail or screw, thereby permitting the holder 12 to be easily mounted on a wall; and rubber feet (not shown) are provided on the underside of the holder to bear against the wall or desk top and prevent the holder from sliding about.

Conveniently, the pad supporting surface of the holder has dimensions slightly larger than a standard size pad, such as 3X5 inches or 5X8 inches, so that the pad l0 may be obtained by simply cutting off a portion of the cardboard backing on such standard size pad.

The pen receptacle l8 provides an opening 30 at the tape which supports a pen or pencil at an upward angle from the supporting surface 14. Said opening 30 has a lower cylindrically shaped wall 32 which slants downward away from the supporting surface, and a depending lip 34 which extends downward from the upper portion of the receptacle 18. Thus, the pen is held in the opening, between the wall 32 and the lip 34. The receptacle I8 is also provided with an opening 33 on its side away from the supporting surface 14, so that it can conveniently hold a pen in an upright position when the holder I2 is mounted on a wall.

The resultant holder, as described herein, holds a notepad securely in place so that it can not slide about while it is being used, and simultaneously holds a pen or pencil in a conveniently accessible position. Furthermore, it has a desirable esthetic value in that the holding means are hidden from view when a pad is installed on the holder, thereby giving the appearance that the pad is merely resting on top of the holder, while in fact it is grasped firmly by the tabs 20.

Iclaim:

l. A notepad holder for a pad having a stack of sheets and a cardboard backing bound together at one edge, the backing extending inward from such edge a short distance, said holder being a one-piece substantially rigid molding comprising a flat wall defining a pad-supporting surface,

a raised portion on said holder disposed transversely at the forward end of said flat wall and having a face perpendicular to the pad-supporting surface in a position to block forward movement of a pad supported on such padsupporting surface,

three laterally spaced portions of said flat wall adjacent said face being offset downward from said pad-supporting surface to a lowered position below the bottom surface of said pad-supporting flat wall, one of said downward-offset portions extending to one side edge of the holder, the downward offset portion adjacent the opposite side edge being spaced inward from that edge and there being an edge wall at said opposite edge upstanding from said adjacent downward offset portion, said downward-offset portions leaving between them a pair of laterally spaced tabs continuous and coplanar with said wall and extending toward but short of said perpendicular face,

said offset portions being spaced below the level of said tabs edge of the pad lies against the perpendicular face of the raised portion, and the leading edge of the pad-backing engages said sidewall as a stop which limits insertion movement of the backing and locates the pad laterally on the pad-supporting surface, the pad being thereby held against movement in directions other than the direction opposite to that of insertion movement.

2. A notepad holder according to claim 1 in which said tabs are resilient and are positioned relative to the offset portions so as to exert a clamping force on a cardboard backing inserted therebetween.

3. A notepad holder according to claim 2 in which said labs are beveled at their edges toward which the pad backing moves during insertion. 

1. A notepad holder for a pad having a stack of sheets and a cardboard backing bound together at one edge, the backing extending inward from such edge a short distance, said holder being a one-piece substantially rigid molding comprising a flat wall defining a pad-supporting surface, a raised portion on said holder disposed transversely at the forward end of said flat wall and having a face perpendicular to the pad-supporting surface in a position to block forward movement of a pad supported on such pad-supporting surface, three laterally spaced portions of said flat wall adjacent said face being offset downward from said pad-supporting surface to a lowered position below the bottom surface of said padsupporting flat wall, one of said downward-offset portions extending to one side edge of the holder, the downward offset portion adjacent the opposite side edge being spaced inward from that edge and there being an edge wall at said opposite edge upstanding from said adjacent downward offset portion, said downward-offset portions leaving between them a pair of laterally spaced tabs continuous and coplanar with said wall and extending toward but short of said perpendicular face, said offset portions being spaced below the level of said tabs to define below the tabs an opening which extends transversely from said one side edge, over the offset portions and under the tabs, and to said edge wall, into which the cardboard backing of a pad may be inserted from said one side edge of the holder by edgewise movement of the pad transversely with respect to the pad-supporting surface, to a position in which the backing lies below the tabs and above the offset portions, the tabs lie between the backing and the stack of sheets of the pad, the bound edge of the pad lies against the perpendicular face of the raised portion, and the leading edge of the pad-backing engages said sidewall as a stop which limits insertion movement of the backing and locates the pad laterally on the padsupporting surface, the pad being thereby held against movement in directions other than the direction opposite to that of insertion movement.
 2. A notepad holder according to claim 1 in which said tabs are resilient and are positioned relative to the offset portions so as to exert a clamping force on a cardboard backing inserted therebetween.
 3. A notepad holder according to claim 2 in which said tabs are beveled at their edges toward which the pad backing moves during insertion. 